Name/Title
Sussex Constabulary pocket notebook 1971Entry/Object ID
2273.3Description
Sussex Constabulary pocket notebook, consisting of entries on 144 numbered lined pages, 3 7/8 x 6 1/4 inches, issued to PC AA862 Aucott and covering the period 22nd January 1971 to 16th April 1979. Printed to the front "Sussex Constabulary" and hand written "AA862W". The other original name and date entries on the cover appear to have been washed away by water. Contains timed and dated handwritten entries in ink. At the rear of the book is a "T25 Sussex Constabulary" aid memoire relating to the completion of accident reports and their cause codes.Use
For an officer to record their duties and any relevant information, including evidence and visits by supervisorsContext
Since the 19th century police officers have been issued with pocket notebooks to record anything relevant during their periods of duty, and they would often be referred to when an officer gave evidence at court. Generally the use of these notebooks has not changed significantly over the last 100 years and there are strict guidelines concerning their use. In the past as now, they are signed out to officers and date stamped. Each page is numbered to prevent removal and officers are instructed to note leave spaces, so that entries can be backdated. The time an officer begins his duty and finishes, together with any breaks should be recorded and any entry should be timed. Often notebooks would have leather notebook covers.
This particular notebook was found inside the breast pocket of a tunic (item 2271.1) donated to the museum, along with the officer's whistle. It, like the tunic, was issued to PC A862 Aucott, who had previously been a Brighton Borough Police officer number 192.
The aide mémoire is typical of what officers carried and still carry to assist them.
Notebooks almost identical to this one are still issued in Sussex Police, along with black leather covers. However officers are encouraged to use mobile devices more to record their activities, and in some police forces pocket notebooks have been withdrawn altogether.